


Blue Shells, Red Pearls

by starryrosez



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe- Mermaid, Angst, Drowning, First Kiss, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Interspecies Relationship(s), M/M, Mermaid!Allura, Mermaid!Hunk, Mermaid!Pidge, mermaid!lance, royalty!lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-16 13:29:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12343629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starryrosez/pseuds/starryrosez
Summary: It was supposed to be a normal summer for Keith until his older brother mysteriously disappears while out at sea. Uncovering the truth behind Shiro's disappearance leads to legends that must never be proven and a lost empire under the sea. Oh yeah, and mermaids.





	Blue Shells, Red Pearls

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! This fic was written for the Voltron Amino Big Bang (even though it sort of went south but shh) , and I'm really proud of it despite it being my first full-length Klance fic :)  
> This fic's mermaid lore is mostly made up from the top of my head, with some inspiration from Greek Mythology and old sailor legends. 
> 
> Enjoy! <3

The sway of the boat on the rough waves was making Keith feel slightly queasy. He isn't the type to get seasick, but he hasn't been on a boat since he was twelve. His brother, on the other hand, is out on the sea almost every other day during the summer. Whether it's for fishing or for his research, Shiro is out there in the water basking in the sun and enjoying life. Keith preferred land, large green forests that smelled dewy in the mornings, where birds are singing all day, and where Keith can hike in the woods for hours enjoying nature to it's fullest. Keith will never understand Shiro's obsession with the sea and it's creatures but it serves him right. It's what got Shiro lost in the first place.

It had started out as a normal summer day.  
While Keith was having breakfast, Shiro had said a quick farewell, ruffling his little brother's hair before setting off to the sea. Keith did his normal morning jog and rode on his horse Hana in his venture to the forest. By the time he got back, it was getting dark and Shiro hadn’t returned. It wasn't until the next morning that Keith realized what had happened. The police came to his doorstep to announce that the boat Shiro was on had sunk and the bodies of everybody aboard had been recovered. Except for Shiro's. He was presumed dead.  
Keith didn't believe that Shiro was dead; he had to be alive. Keith wouldn't rest until he found out what had happened to his big brother.

That's how Keith finds himself, two weeks later, on a boat, heading out to the location of the shipwreck. Although it was Keith's idea to investigate, his uncle Thace was head of the official investigation for the police department and had allowed Keith to sneak onto the boat.

"It's a windy day," the captain of the boat roars as the boat sways along the big waves. "If you got motion sickness I'd start heading to the railing right now. I don't want vomit all over my spotless deck."

Keith grips the railing from where he’s standing as the boat rides a huge wave, making everybody on the boat hold on for dear life. Keith can feel every hair on his body stand, as his feet leave the ground for a second. _God_ , _can't they get to the site already_?

He feels somebody place a hand on his shoulder and Keith looks up to find his uncle smiling down at him. The sunlight reflecting of Thace's police badge blinds Keith momentarily. "We'll find him," Thace assures his nephew. "Dead or alive, we won't stop until we find him."

"Preferably alive," Keith grumbles as he squints up at the sun, noticing how the once clear sky has started to change into a cloudier one. _It's just like that time_ ...  
"Of course kiddo," Thace assures the grumpy teenager, rubbing Keith’s back slightly. "We got two more miles left until we reach the vicinity of the shipwreck. We'll let Plax have a look around the wreckage and see if we can get some clues. How does that sound, Keith?"

"Fine," Keith sighs.

"That's my boy," Keith’s uncle ruffles Keith's hair before turning around. "Plax?” he shouted. “Are you getting ready?"

A white girl with dyed blue hair in pigtails pops her head out of from behind the deck. She has an optimistic aura about her as she gives Thace a thumbs up.

"Everything's all set. Oxygen tank is in perfect condition and filled to the brim. I'm going to start changing into my scuba gear now, Officer, " she says.

"Officer Thace." Another policeman approaches Thace. "We're getting reports of a possible storm coming up. Should we turn back?"

"Don't worry about it. We're almost there and Plax is fast. We'll be back at shore before the hour."

Keith stares into the sea and watches the waves roll around the boat, hints of schools of fish swimming beneath it's surface. It's beautiful and Keith grasps an understanding on why Shiro loves the sea so much. While everybody prepares to check out the shipwreck, Keith looks down at the water studying the fishes. Unlike his brother who has expansive knowledge of the sea and it's creatures, Keith knows next to nothing about it. He knows the name of some fishes but he's not quite sure if he even lives in a region where they thrive.

The sky above him is getting darker and the adults on board are starting to get reckless in their preparations for the search. Keith sighs, they aren't going to find anything if they're rushing, meaning this investigation is a waste of Keith's time. He'll probably have to go out by himself and investigate some other time.

Keith stares down at his reflection in the water. The wind is making some of the water spray onto Keith's face. He probably smells like fish by now. Keith scrunches his nose in disgust at the thought. Suddenly, he hears a splash and Keith whips his head towards the sound. Could it be a dolphin? Do dolphins even come to this region? Keith isn't sure as he curiously follow the source of the sound. Keith leans over the railing to investigate when thunder is suddenly heard. Before Keith could react rain is pouring down and the teenager frowns in disgust and backs away. Keith's wet hair is pressed against his forehead and he runs his hand through it to part it so he doesn't feel so disgusting and uncomfortable.

"Everybody get down! We're heading back!" the captain shouts as the engine of the boat roars and the boat begins to turn around.

Keith grips the railing to steady himself but it's slippery and he can feel himself losing his grip. An enormous wave suddenly appears and attacks the ship with all of its force. Keith holds onto the railing more tightly, praying that he won't get thrown overboard. But it's no use. His death grip isn't enough to keep him on board and the wave takes him away from the boat. Keith doesn't even have enough time to take a deep breath before he's submerged in water. The ice cold water envelopes Keith and he realizes that it's over. Nobody can rescue him. This how he'll die. Is this what Shiro experienced?

 _Shiro_ , he thinks to himself. _Wherever you are, I'm sorry I couldn't find you. Please forgive me..._

Those are his last thoughts before his vision fades and he blacks out.

-

When Keith finally comes to, he's on a soft bed that feels so smooth Keith finds himself curling into it. It feels so nice, Keith's tempted to keep sleeping. Through his eyelids Keith can sense sunlight reflecting onto his face. He must be in a hospital. Somehow he's been rescued and is currently recovering. He can even hear hushed voices speaking as if he's underwater.

"Lance, why'd you bring _him_ here?" a male voice says. "Do you know how much trouble you're going to be in?"

"Relax, Hunk," another male voice, presumably Lance, replies. "As soon as he heals, I'll bring him up to the surface. Bam, like nothing ever happened."

"He's been in your room for over 2 weeks and you're lucky nobody has caught you yet. How are you planning on sneaking a human out of the royal palace anyway?" The first male voice, Hunk, questions, "Pidge, back me up here."

"He's right Lance," a female voice this time, Pidge, agrees, "The first one caused enough trouble. Imagine a second one. And how can you be sure he won't come to? What if he wakes up before you bring him back to the surface? We can't let him discover us."

Keith is confused. What are they talking about? Keith groans and sits up on the bed, stretching his limbs. He slowly opens his eyes and turns to the window to look outside. Keith gasps and throws himself out of bed and races to the window. Could it even be called a window? It was more like a hole that looked into a strange city. All the buildings were coral mixed in with a few rusted underwater buildings. Schools of fishes swam freely all over the place. Keith looks up to find the sunlight is actually coming from hundreds of miles above. He's underwater. Wait? How's he breathing?

"I'm dead," Keith gasps, he turns around to face the rest of the room. It was strange because everything looked so similar, yet different as if he's in an alternate universe. The walls were coral in shades of blue. The bed was a giant oyster held open by precious metallic beams. The door looked like a normal human door except it was silver. There even seemed to be bizarre technology that resembled things Keith had on the surface except modified to a more sea-like aesthetic. "I'm in heaven."

He hears whispering and Keith remembers that he isn't alone.

"Hello?" Keith calls out. "Is anybody there?"

More whispering, the people hiding from him are bad hiders. Keith finds them behind the strange oyster bed curled together. But they're not quite human, Keith realizes. They all had human features, a face like humans about Keith's age and torsos and arms like a human. Their ears are pointed and they have gills on their necks. Where their elbows should be they have beautiful fins swaying with the water. But the most important part is that they have no legs, instead, they have tails. Beautiful vibrant fish tails in different colors and shapes. Keith gasps.

"Are you angels?" Keith asks because that's the only logical solution in his head. How in the world is he breathing underwater again? He's dead right? "Some sort of weird fish angels?"

The girl, light-skinned, brunette with a green tail rolls her eyes, "Nice going Lance, you brought in a dumb one."

The larger boy, a dark-skinned one, yellow-tailed with a beautiful tattoo of a stingray on his back giggled, "He thinks we're angels. That's adorable."

The other boy, the most beautiful out of the three immediately approaches Keith. His skin is dark but lighter than the yellow-tailed one. His blue tail looks like it's made of diamonds and sways like a beautiful dress at the fins. At his wrists are silver gauntlets which match a beautiful silver necklace adorned with sapphire pendants. Keith finds himself blushing as he draws himself closer to the human.

"I'm actually a merman," the merman replies a smirk on his gorgeous lips as he winks, "But for you baby, I'll be an angel." He holds out his hand and winks again at Keith. "I'm Lance by the way."

Keith stares agape at the merman. Lance's two friends groan.

"Lance," the yellow-tailed merman whines. "He's a human, you can't just--

"Lance, I swear to god if you brought this human here because you thought he was cute, I will tear you into shreds," the mermaid grits her teeth, revealing fangs.

Keith feels slightly uncomfortable at the gesture but Lance simply cocks his head to the side and continues with his macho bravado. "Pidge, you may be a siren but you bite like an unsure shark," Lance places a hand on his hip as he teases Pidge.

Pidge huffs, crossing her arms and letting her long hair flow and begins to mimic, "You may be a siren but you bite like an unsure shark."

The yellow-tailed merman looks at Keith and then Lance and sighs again, "Lance, this is your mess. Fix it."

"Relax," Lance says as he slings an arm over Keith's shoulder. "Nobody will know he's even here-

"Lance?" another mermaid's voice came floating into the room. "Lance, are you in your room?"

"Uh...yeah," Lance responds as he gestures to Hunk and Pidge to hide Keith. Lance practically tosses the human to his friends, "What do you need Allura?"

"What are you doing?" Keith protests as the two mermaids drag him away.

"Trust us, you don't want to be discovered," Pidge whispers as she shoves him into what appears to be a closet.

Keith growls as they shut the door on him, leaving him in complete darkness. Luckily for him, there's a crack at the door and Keith manages to look into it and see what is happening. There's a mermaid, a black girl with long flowy white hair and a gorgeous golden tiara adorning her head. Her tail resembled Lance's except it's pink with lavender and white highlights. Her pointed ears are pierced with pearls and she comes in with confidence. Keith immediately realizes that she must be in a high position of power to own such jewelry, and Lance must be too for the two to be speaking so formally.

"I have to talk to you Lance--" her eyes meet Hunk and Pidge and her blue eyes widen a bit. She turns to Lance, a little annoyed but still being polite, "I didn't know you had friends over."

Lance nods, "Yeah sorry--

"Would they mind if they left for a second."

Hunk and Pidge, still guarding the door, nervously glance at each other before nodding. Whoever this mermaid is, she must be either powerful enough or persuasive enough to convince those two to leave and risk it all. Keith's not sure but he thinks Pidge glares at him, brown eyes glowing a bit as a warning before leaving the room. As soon as they leave, the mermaid's resolve vanishes.

"Lance," she says, "About the human...I have something to confess."

Lance tilts his head, "What is it?"

"I'm the one who brought him here," she confesses.

"You what!?" Lance yells.

"Shh!" the mermaid pleads the merman to quiet down, "You know why you're the only one who can know this."

"But do you realize the mess you've created because of that? And now he's a prisoner who can never leave and return back home," Lance says. "Allura, you made the entire kingdom scared for their life. You almost risked us discovery. And the poor human--

"I know," Allura runs a hand through her hair stressfully. "I know, but that night, when I saw him drowning I just, I couldn't let him _die_."

Lance smiles sadly, as if he understands Allura. "It's alright. You just wanted to do the right thing."

Allura nods as she lies down on Lance's bed rubs her temples. "I've been sneaking down to the barracks every night just to talk to him. He's quite charming Lance, I think you'll like him."

Lance laughs sneaking a glance at the closet. Keith swears their eyes meet for a second before Lance averts his gaze to whoever Allura is to him.

"I'm sure he is," Lance answers, "Are you going to help him?"

"I'm trying," Allura sighs, "But I can't. If the public realizes he's gone… well everybody will think it's the end of the world."

"But how can you be so sure he won't--

"Shiro won't do that!" Allura interrupts as she sits up and yells at Lance, "I met him Lance. He just wants to see his brother up there. And I can take him there --"

 _Shiro._ Keith's eyes widen. His brother is here too. Keith submerges from the closet making both mermaids turn to him as he takes a deep breath.

"Shiro," Keith says, "What have you done to him? Where have you taken him? Am I also stuck down here as your prisoner?"

Allura's mouth drops at the sight of Keith and her shocked face turns to Lance, "Lance..."

"Allura, you're my cousin, and I love you, but please don't--

"Why did a human just come out of the closet?" she asks cautiously.

The blue-tailed merman frowns, "Well you did the same exact thing."

Allura lets out a groan as she plops back onto the bed and rubs her temples. "This is too much for me Lance! I got royal duties as heir to the throne, I have to help Shiro and now _this_?"

"In my defense," Lance says, "He hasn't been discovered yet unlike _yours_."

"It's only a matter of time." Allura responds, "He's already down here, the others will find out soon enough."

Lance turns to Keith and smiles. "Ignore the princess. She has a good heart but she has no hope for anything."

Allura narrows her eyes, "You rescued him because you thought he was cute didn't you."

"You did the same!" Lance protests.

Allura blushes and she turns her head away from her cousin. Keith chuckles. They're like siblings who can't see eye to eye.

"Well," Allura stands up and turns to the human. "What's your name?"

"Keith. I'm Shiro's little brother. Where are you keeping him? Can I see him?"

The princess smiles sympathetically, "I'm afraid not. Your brother's under constant surveillance and it'll be impossible for you to save him. We will return you to the surface in two days. Stay in here and do not venture unless you want to end up like your brother." Keith feels himself deflate. He finally knows what has happened to his brother, he's _alive_ and yet he can't see him. Allura notices this and she pushes back a loose strand of Keith's hair. It immediately reminds him of the way his late mother pushed his hair back when he was a little boy. Her smile is also motherly like, "Don't worry Keith, I'll tell him you're alright for you." She turns to Lance. "Please, don't let anybody discover him. Shiro will kill me if he's stuck down here too." Her smile softens as she hugs her cousin. "And thank you."

Lance's eyes widen slightly, he obviously didn't expect Allura to hug him. He quickly snaps out of his phase and hugs her back, a smirk on his face as he says, "Anything to get dirty secrets from Altea's perfect princess." Allura smacks the back of his head as she exits. Pidge and Hunk are nowhere to be seen.

Lance turns to Keith, a playful smile and sparkling eyes adorning his face as he excitedly approaches Keith again. The merman takes Keith by the hand and guides him onto the bed.

"What are you doing--"

"Shut up handsome let me get you comfortable," Lance winks. "Since you're probably confused, I am going to answer some questions for you." Keith nodded as Lance hands Keith a strange fluffy thing that reminds Keith of a pillow. Keith lies down on the bed and cuddles with the pillow. Lance lies next to Keith and smiles at the human. Keith blushes and averts his eyes away, not used to somebody so gorgeous being so blatantly interested in him. "Alright," Lance says. "Shoot."

"If I'm not dead," Keith begins, "Why am I able to breathe underwater?"

"Air bubble," Lance replies, "It's around you to protect you from any harm the water can do to you. It's invisible and flexible. It won't pop until you reach the surface." Lance pokes Keith's chest, "See?"

"I see," Keith responds, "Where am I?"

"Altea," Lance answers, "Third kingdom of the Nereid."

"What's a Nereid?"

"It's what we call ourselves. Sea-nymphs as you call it. You're probably most familiar with sirens, since they are the ones that have the most contact with humans but there are various races," Lance tilts his head in a pensive way. "Kind of like humans."

Keith snuggles into the bed a bit more as he listens to the merman. As Lance talks about the history and origins of all of the types of sea-nymphs Keith is intrigued. At the same time he feels his heart sink realizing how much Shiro would love to hear about them. And then the fact that he'll never Shiro again sinks in and Keith grips his pillow a little tighter.

"Are you okay?" Lance suddenly asks, their faces are so close, Keith realizes that Lance's face is even less human than he had thought. Like freckles, there were blue scales splattered all over his dark skin. His hands, which are long and manicured with webbing extend to Keith's face, "You look sad. Don't worry Keith, your knight in shining armor will bring you back to the surface soon. We just have to make preparations." Lance's hand cups the human's face and runs his thumb over Keith's lip. Keith could feel his face burning from the touch.

Keith shakes his head as he leans into Lance's touch, "No, I just miss my brother."

Lance nods in understanding. "I'm sorry," he says as he continues to feel Keith's face. Keith could feel his heart beating. He's not sure if intimate touching is part of mermaid culture or if Lance is just touchy. Keith is too afraid to ask, but he seems to be a flirt anyways. "In my home kingdom, I have five siblings. I miss them too."

Keith nods. "At least you can see them again."

"Not exactly," Lance chuckles. "I live kind of far from that kingdom. And as second in line to the throne I have a lot of training to do. But I guess you have it worse, huh?"

Keith wants to comment that Lance is 10 times more likable when he's not trying to woo Keith but instead he asks, "So... you're a prince?"

Lance's playfulness is back. "Yup. Your prince charming." Keith snorts as he re-positions himself on the bed. "Why are the Nereid so afraid of us?" Lance chuckles his pearly white teeth showing.

"We're not," Lance responds. "We love humans. We just don't want you guys discovering us."

"Why?"

" _Why_? You guys will never leave us alone. You'll tag us like sea creatures and kidnap us to display in your aquariums. Some of you will poach us or just plain murder us," Lance explains. "We're afraid of you guys making us go extinct like you have done to the others."

Keith nods as if he understands, but he's actually sort of confused. Most humans wouldn't do that, would they?

"How do you know so much about humans?" Keith asks.

" _Well_ ," Lance begins, his voice becoming an octave higher as he emphasizes the first word that comes out of his mouth, "We've been interacting with humans for ages. Back then, sirens were known to joke around with sailors and many brought them down here to marry. That's where the myth that sirens drown sailors come from. Our brains are slightly different compared to a humans, we can learn any human language in a day. Ah, and we have books. We learn about your culture through the millions of books we've salvaged over the millennium."

Keith nods, "So, like you guys model off your culture from us?"

Lance's brows knit together as he contemplates how he'll answer Keith's question. "Well, we are social creatures like humans, so the way we created empires and such was naturally like humans? But yeah, we do have schooling similar to humans and technology like humans. Of course, nothing in the sea can be fashioned into anything that requires electricity so we lack a lot of things in that sense but we do learn a lot from humans. I mean, a lot of us go to the surface to mate with humans since we love your lifestyle a lot."

"H-how does a mermaid and a human...?" Keith asks and quickly pauses, his face reddening realizing what he was just about to ask.

"Ah, ah well, the Nereid have the ability to change form if they have any trace of human in their bloodline...uh..." Lance face reddens too as he averts his gaze away from Keith's face. Keith thinks it's cute as Lance stammers, struggling to find the right words. "And uh," Lance takes a deep breath before he speaks very quickly, "mating is a very intimate process and is something only discussed if you're going to mate--" Lance cuts himself off as he abruptly sits up. " _Okay_ , I think that's enough questions. Are you hungry?"

Now that Lance is asking, Keith feels his stomach growl. Keith sits up on the bed and nods. Lance smiles in return. "Okay, I'll call a servant--

"Wouldn't that risk me being exposed?" Keith asks.

"Don't worry about it," Lance winks as he opens the door and calls out for somebody. "Just stay on the bed and nobody will see you. Trust me, I've been doing this for weeks."

An unrecognizable figure appears by the doorway and Lance requests food. Immediately the figure retreats and Lance closes the door promptly. "I hope you like fish," Lance turns to Keith with a brilliant smile. The human swears he sees it sparkle from how white and clean they are, "Cause that's all you're getting."

Keith nods, "I don't mind fish." He's curious to see what exactly do they eat, sure there's fish but do they cook it or eat it raw? Do they eat anything organic like seaweed? The question is quickly answered when Lance opens the door again and thanks the servant, dismissing him and closing the door. He comes back to the bed with a huge plate with a cover on it, much like the ones butlers use in movies.

"May I present to you," Lance mock announces as he reveals the platter, "Mackerel burger!"

Keith looks at the food. In a strange way, it looks like human burgers. There's a patty and bread. Instead of meat it's fish. It's not raw, the fish is perfectly cooked. Instead of lettuce there's seaweed and there's various different sauces that Keith has never seen before in it. Keith takes the burger and wonders how in the world did they manage to make a burger underwater without everything floating away with the current. Keith takes a curious bite and his eyes widen. For some strange reason, it tastes better than anything he's ever had. Lance seems to notice Keith's pleasure, and Lance smiles.

"It's good right?" Lance says, "That's my favorite meal."

Keith nods as he continues eating. Who would've known that after two weeks of being passed out, one could be so hungry? Keith's tempted to ask for more, but Lance's hospitality is something he doesn't want to take advantage of.

"Want more?" Lance asks.

Keith shakes his head, "I'm good--ah!"

Lance's face comes really close to Keith's. Keith feels himself blush from their proximity. Lance tilts his head as Keith refuses to look at the beautiful merman.

"I'll order another one," Lance says as he heads back to the door.

Keith ends up eating five more after.

"Do the Nereid have music down here?" Keith asks, relaxing on the bed, his entire body buzzing from the burgers he ate.

"Of course," Lance answers. "We sing all the time. Sirens are the best at singing but we all have lovely voices." The merman's hands playfully tug Keith's wrist as he coyly says, "Everybody says my voice is _enticing_." Lance leans forward their foreheads almost touching as Lance's hands playfully roam up and down Keith's arm. The touch sends every part of Keith's body on fire and he can feel his heartbeat racing.

"Are you joking?" Keith teases, his hand coming up to stop Lance's.

"Wanna hear?" Keith nods excited to see what kind of a voice Lance has. Is it rich? Is it smooth? Does it make one feel relaxed or give them the goosebumps?

Lance pulls away from Keith and clears his throat. He then opens his mouth. Keith gasps. It's beautiful. Lance sings in his native language, one that sounds similar to the one of dolphins and whales. It's a series of clicks and moans and yet it's the greatest thing Keith's ever heard. Lance grabs his hand and pulls him up and suddenly, Keith's spinning on the floor of the prince's room. The rush of the water creates a small whirl pool and Keith admires the way everything looks. Lance spins him again, his lulling voice reaching into Keith's heart as Keith's feet suddenly aren't on the ground. Keith laughs as Lance picks him up spins his around, did this merman ever get tired?

"Put me down!" Keith demands through his laughter.

Lance ignores him, holding his waist and hands like he's afraid of letting go. The world is like a myriad of colors around him except for Lance's beautiful face. Keith's free hand comes up to Lance's face and he cups it. Their faces inch closer as Keith flutters his eyes close, his heart pounding in his chest--

"Lance!" Hunk and Pidge pound on the door, "It's urgent let us in!"

The two pull away and Lance gently drops Keith back to the ground, the magic of the moment gone in an instant. Keith feels slightly dizzy as he attempts to follow Lance towards the door. The prince opens the door and his two friends rush in.

"Lance," Hunk says, "The court is holding a meeting and they request your presence immediately."

Lance's eyes widen. "What? No, I have to watch over Keith and make sure nothing happens to him--

"It's important," Pidge adds, "It's to determine the fate of the other human."

 _Shiro_. Keith urgently turns to Lance, "That's my brother, Lance, you have to make sure they don't do anything to him."

"I won't," Lance assures Keith. "But my priority is _you_. I can't risk dooming you too."

"Well, if you won't then I will," Keith pushes through the Nereid and begins to walk down the corridor ignoring them.

"Wait!" Lance calls out, "It's too risky!"

Something green flashes in the corner of Keith's eye and suddenly he's being pushed back. He falls unceremoniously onto the ground, Pidge on top of him, her fangs out and brown eyes glowing with rage.

"But Shiro--"

"I'll do it," Lance announces, "But you can't wander off, okay?"

Keith doesn't know what to say. His mind is jumbled up with a bunch of emotions. The past few hours have just been too much for his human brain to process.

"But I want to see--" Keith begins to protest before he's interrupted by sharp teeth threatening to bite into his neck. "Can you _not_?"

Hunk places a hand on Lance's shoulder and the two share a look. Hunk sighs as Lance turns to Keith.

"Fine," Lance says as he heads over to a vent on the floor and opens it, "Pidge and Hunk will escort you through here to the courtroom. Don't utter a _word_ , unless you want to get caught."

Keith nods solemnly as Pidge releases her hold on him, "Good luck, Lance."

The merman winks at his friends, "I won't need it."

Keith looks down the vent and wonders how would underwater ventilation even work. Hunk swims into the hole on the ground and opens his arms, ready to catch Keith.

"When you get down there, you'll most likely need to crawl," Pidge informs, "These vents are built for the Nereid to swim through with ease, but no human can walk normally."

"So like any other vent," Keith mumbles, "Great."

He drops down and Hunk catches him. The merman looks a bit skeptical of Keith but smiles nonetheless.

"I don't think I ever got your name human," Hunk says as he guides Keith to the ground, making sure his landing won't make a disturbance, "I'm Hunk and that's Pidge."

"My name's Keith," the human answers as he crouches down.

"So the human that caught our Lance's attention is named Keith," Pidge ponders out loud, "Well I have to admit you are eye candy. Could lose the mullet though."

Keith laughs as Pidge swims down the vent, "Not gonna happen."

The two mermaids guide Keith down the labyrinth until they reach a vent where golden light shimmers through. Hunk gestures the two to come over and Keith quietly crawls to his spot.

"Through here, you can get a broad view of the courtroom," Hunk whispers "We're really high above so it's unlikely anybody will see us but they can hear us if it gets quiet enough."

Keith nods as he takes a look into the courtroom through the vent. It's an ornate room completely in gold. If Keith didn't know better, he'd believe the place is a normal human palace from the movies. A golden chandelier with jellyfish giving off light hung above the entire room. There is a throne at the head of the room with two smaller thrones next to it. What Keith presumes is the king, sits on the throne with Lance and Allura sitting next to him in the smaller thrones. The rest of the room is filled with people sitting on benches or standing. There are all different kinds of mermaids with different hair colors, skin tone, tail color and shape. At the entrance, a brass instrument Keith has never seen or heard of before is blown and the Nereid quiet down. The king begins the meeting by addressing the problem with the human, _Shiro_. Keith squirms uncomfortably in his position as people make suggestions to what to do with him. Some people suggested he stay a prisoner for the rest of his life, others demanded he should be released, one particular guy even suggested feeding Keith's brother to the sharks. Keith shifts his gaze over to the royal family. The king seems to be listening to everything the Nereid suggests seriously. Allura seems displeased with most of the suggestions, a fake smile adorned on her face as she awaits for somebody to suggest what she desperately wants for the human she saved. Lance sits on his throne casually, listening intently like the king but with a little displeasure like his cousin.

"I think it's unfair we're keeping the human as a prisoner," a merman with shaggy brown hair the same color as Pidge and a darker shade of green compared to Pidge's tail speaks up, "I agree that we can't run the risk of being exposed to the human race, but since he's stuck here, why can't we just let him roam free?"

This piques Allura's interest, her eyes slightly widening as she sits up straighter to hear what the merman has to say. Lance sits up as well, following Allura's example that he likes the idea. The king hums. Keith crosses his fingers. He'd prefer it if Shiro could come back to the surface but if Keith has to leave Shiro behind, this is what he'd prefer. At least Shiro could have a chance to live a life, even if it's under the sea.

"Thank you, Matt. You proposed an excellent idea. I think this is a good compromise for our two extremes here. He's still down here, but at least he isn't rotting in the prisons. Of course, we'll have guards to watch him closely so he won't escape, but unless he has any mermaid ancestry and can awaken his fins, he'll not be able to go back without help. Any objections?"

There's silence for a few moments as one by one, the Nereid across the room raise their hands. A few protest and refuse to raise their hands however. The number between for and against quickly shorten until it's a tie.

"Lance, Allura," the king says, "It is your decision on how the tie should break. For or against?"

Lance raises his hand without hesitation and Keith gasps. Lance's eyes drift up for a brief second and Keith swears their eyes meet. _Thank you_. Keith says in his head, knowing it won't reach Lance and that he'll have to say it in person. Allura ponders for a few seconds, an obvious act to make her not look desperate, before raising her hand as well. Keith sighs in relief as the king calls the decision in favor. Pidge smiles, "That's my brother!" The room erupts with chattering again, and Lance looks up at the vent and winks. Keith smiles as Hunk and Pidge begin to guide Keith back to Lance's room.

When they come back and Lance returns, everybody cheers and goes up to Lance for a group hug.

"You did it!" Keith says.

"Oh please, if it weren't for my brother yours wouldn't be free," Pidge teases, her sharp fangs poking out teasingly, "Lance did nothing."

"Hey! I broke the tie!" Lance defends himself his face reddening as he breaks up the hug, "Besides, it's getting dark, shouldn't you two be heading back home?"

Pidge shrugs as she stretches lazily. "I guess. I'll see you tomorrow, Lance. Nice meeting you, Keith, don't get caught."

"Yeah, I should head back too. Shay's probably waiting for me," Hunk pats Lance's back as he turns to Keith, "Bye, Lance. Good luck, Keith."

"Bye, guys, I'll see you tomorrow," Lance says as his two friends exit. He turns to Keith his smile wide, "So, do I get a kiss for helping you out?"

Keith rolls his eyes, failing to stop himself from blushing, "No, you'll need to do more than that to get a kiss from me."

"Hmm," Lance teasingly smiles as he grabs Keith's waist, "You were totally digging my voice, maybe I should sing to you again. Hmm, should I try one of your songs? What's something modern you guys like?" Lance intertwines his fingers with Keith as they begin swaying, "Wise men say, only fools rush in but I--

\--can't help falling in love with you," Keith sings along making Lance's eyes widen from the surprise. "Elvis' music is _so_ 50 years ago, but his music is still beloved even with my stingy generation."

Lance smiles, "You can sing pretty well and _hey_ , I tried!"

"Just be glad I love the classics," Keith teases as he rests his hand on Lance's shoulder, the two swaying to nothing but the imaginary music in their heads, "And you just happen to have sang my favorite."

"Shall I stay?" Lance continues singing along, "Or would it be a sin, if I can't help--

\--falling in love with you," Keith joins as their eyes meet. The two boys are blushing profusely as they continue their duet. "Like a river flows, surely to the sea, darling so it goes. Some things are meant to be." Their faces lean in and Keith closes his eyes, awaiting for Lance's lips to meet his. It never happens. Instead, the door creaks and the two immediately pull apart, and then the king enters the room. Up close, Keith realizes that he must be Allura's father, for Allura resembles him. She has white hair like him and that same dark skin with light eyes. His tail is a bigger flowier version of Allura's with a redder hue. He has a beautiful crown adorned on his head with golden gauntlets. Upon the sight of Keith the king falters.

"Uncle Alfor," Lance has a mix of emotions written all over his face as he looks between his human and the king. "It's not--"

"It's exactly what it looks like, Lance," Alfor interrupts raising a hand. "It seems like you have been harboring a human down here."

Lance turns to Keith and desperately steps in front of him, shielding the human from the king, "Uncle, I beg you to not take him away. The day after tomorrow I am returning him to the surface. Uncle--"

"I don't want to hear any more, Lance," the king turns around, "I just wanted to tell you that you should let my stubborn daughter know I know she's the one that brought the first human. I was going to have a royal dinner with just Shiro, but I guess I must request dinner with your human too. Ah, what's your name human?"

"K-Keith," Keith hesitantly answers.

"Nice to meet you, Keith," the kings smiles at Keith, "enjoy your stay while it lasts."

The door closes and Lance and Keith stare at each other wide-eyed. Neither couldn't believe what had just happened. And then the two laugh, Lance grabbing Keith's waist and hoisting him up in the water.

"Oh, thank god," Lance sighs in relief as he plops Keith onto the bed, he himself following, "I wouldn't know what I'd do if he took you away."

Keith chuckles pushing back the prince's hair, "Thank you, for everything, Lance."

Lance, who already has his eyes closed, smiles, "No problem. Now, let's get some rest, okay? We got a big day of preparations tomorrow."

-

The sunlight coming from the sun, hundreds of miles above slips into the window and creates a glow on Lance's face. Keith flutters his eyes open to find that beautiful sight. Keith extends a hand running his fingers along the beautiful merman's face. And then, everything hits him. Keith's slightly taken aback by the rush of memories he has. Keith attempts to move in the bed but finds himself trapped by Lance's strong arms around him. Keith grits his teeth and takes back all the soft thoughts he had earlier as he ran his fingers across the gorgeous merman's face. Nobody should be allowed to snore and wrap their arms around him like a clingy person no matter how attractive they are.

Keith flicks his rescuer’s forehead and the merman jolts awake with a yelp. He abruptly sits up and rubs his forehead.

"Ow," Lance whines. "You didn't have to do that."

"Morning princess," Keith yawns. "I'm _starving_ , how about you?"

"Ha, ha. Very funny," Lance sarcastically counters. "I'll get you breakfast. Stay in bed."

"Okay," Keith stretches his limbs on the bed as Lance retrieves their breakfast. For breakfast they have sushi which lacked many of the ingredients Keith is used too, but it still tasted good. Lance also has a few alongside the human, since he hasn't had a meal in a few hours.

Lance picks up the last sushi roll and offers it to Keith, "Open wide, Keith."

Keith blushes. "Are you trying to feed me?" he teases.

Lance's face turns red as he averts his eyes, "J-just--

"I'm joking, Lance," Keith playfully nudges the merman's shoulder. "I don't mind."

Lance's pointed ears perk up at this and he smiles as he offers the roll again to Keith. Keith leans forward to take a bite, his mouth beginning to open slightly as he braces for--

The door opens _again_ , this time, Allura comes in with her face flushed and smiling widely.

"They released him!" Allura excitedly announces and the two boys perk up with excitement and joy. Her happiness radiates all over her face, that it looks like she's glowing. Perhaps she is, since she isn't human and Keith isn't sure exactly what is possible and not for the Nereid, "Father is letting me take him into town for shopping!"

"That's great!" Lance says, dropping the forgotten sushi roll, "Shiro is going to love the market!"

"I know," Allura gushes, "Do you think I can convince him to buy me something sparkly?"

Keith stares at the sushi roll as it floats away, taunting him about what he almost had. He's lost interest in whatever the royal highness-es are gossiping about, choosing to instead sulk and glare at that sushi roll.

"Oh, by the way, I don't know how he knows but father knows that you're harboring Keith. He told me that the invitation to go into town has a plus two."

"Sorry," Lance says, "If I bring Keith into town, he'll be exposed and the public won't let him return to the surface. I can't risk it. I'm sure Hunk and Shay will love to go. I heard Shay's been looking for something sparkly too," he indicates his ring finger, "If you know what I mean."

"Alright," Allura clasps her hands, "I'll pass down the invite to those two. Have a great day, Lance," she turns to Keith and smiles. "You too, Keith."

Keith nods as Lance waves goodbye. As Allura exits, Keith reaches out to the spring roll and pops it into his mouth. Lance turns to Keith and sighs, "Where were we?" Lance asks. Keith points to his mouth, still full of sushi. Lance chuckles, "You wanna kiss?" Keith glares at the merman as he flicks his forehead again. Lance flinches again, whining as he rubs his temple, "Ow ow ow! Stop doing that Keith!"

The human sticks out his tongue before settling back into bed, "By the way," Keith asks taking a whiff of his clothes, "Do you have a change of clothes? You know, two weeks in this makes me reek, in fact, can I shower?"

Lance nods, "I can prepare a washing for you. It's a bit complicated since it's different from what you're used to, but once it's explained you'll understand." Lance sits up and opens his closet. "My mother is a half-human Nereid actually. She was raised on the surface and was later brought down here and married my father. Which means I _do_ have legs," Lance explains as he digs around his stuff. "I don't really like being in my human form since _I am_ underwater all the time but I have human clothes tailored to my exact fitting for when I do decide to go into it." Lance tosses a change of clothes at Keith and smiles, "I'm taller than you but it'll have to do."

Keith takes the clothes and gawks at Lance. "You can shift?" he asks.

Lance nods, "And I'm just as handsome as a human as I am a merman. I'm sure you'll drool if you saw me."

Keith sets the clothes aside and looks up at the merman. "Do it then."

"W-what?"

"Go into your human form. I wanna see," Keith says with curiosity. How would Lance look as a human? Would he lose the blue scales on his face that reminds Keith of freckles? Would his hair be tamer? Just _how_ much taller is he compared to Keith?

Much to Keith's disappointment, Lance flusters as he comes up with an excuse to not change into his human form and shows Keith how bathing in the sea works. Lance is right, it's a bit strange but not difficult. The Nereid have assembled shower-like appliances such as a shower head made out of bronze. They basically work like jet streams in hot tubs. The shower-head increases the pressure allowing water to go everywhere and rinse off. Instead of soap, the Nereid have ointments that they put all over their body to smell nice. In under five minutes, Keith finishes bathing and changes into new clothes. Keith steps out of the shower feeling refreshed. He returns to find Lance on his bed reading a book. Hearing his approaching footsteps, Lance turns around his mouth agape upon the sight of Keith.

"Is there something wrong?" Keith asks shyly, his face burning as he looks down at the clothes he's wearing.

"No..." Lance shakes his head as he buries his flustered face behind his book. "You-you look great actually."

"Really?" Keith tugs on the shirt he's wearing with insecurity. "It's a bit big on me."

Lance's eyes trace the collar bone poking out of the shirt Keith's in. They linger on Keith's exposed hip from the waistline hanging so low. _Oh_. Keith's blush deepens as he realizes why Lance likes it so much. This is something people did when they were in relationships right? Ogle over their significant other in their loose-fitted clothes? Keith's not sure, he's never been in a relationship before, and much less in love. But then again, he and Lance aren't even friends per se, why would Keith think of such a thing? Keith finds his face on fire as Lance's eyes stay focused on him.

The corner of Lance's mouth quirks up a bit as his eyes drift away from prying on Keith's skin. "I-I think that's the point."

Keith chuckles as he comes over to Lance and lays beside him. Lance runs a hand through Keith's hair.

"Is there anything you'd like to do today Keith?" Lance asks, "Allura told me that the king has minimal people on staff today and that they're all trusted people. Your secret will be safe with them."

Keith shrugs. In all honesty, he only has two desires at the moment. To see his brother and to stay in the arms of the merman that rescued him. Not that he'll ever admit the latter to Lance. Lance's ego would sky rocket and Keith will never hear the end of it.

"How about a stroll around the palace?" Lance suggests.

Keith nods. "Okay."

Lance offers Keith his hand and Keith's hand easily slips inside. It's strange how perfect they fit together. Keith smiles a he lets Lance whisk him away into the depths of the palace.

* * *

 

Shiro remembered the events of the past month all too well. It all started when while out on an expedition to study marine life, a storm came in and the ship had suddenly been ripped apart by the sea. Everybody aboard couldn't do anything but await their inevitable death. Shiro was the last one to submerge, holding to some sort of hope that somebody would swoop in and rescue him.

When the cold water first swallowed Shiro, the first thing he thought was how strange it was that he hadn’t accustomed to the coldness of the water. If he was going to drown, it would've been nice to be enveloped in warmness. _It's summer_ , for Christ's sake.

Suddenly, Shiro took a breath. It was involuntary, because despite everything, he was still clinging onto a will to live. He had Keith to look after, he couldn't just leave his little brother. He had a whole life to look forward to; he was only 22, _please god_ this couldn't be it. His lungs were burning and he knew he was nearing the end. His vision was already starting to fade, and it would only be a matter of time until he would lose consciousness. Shiro wished he had something to say, some sort of conclusion, but there was nothing. How pathetic. Before his vision completely went black, something in pink glimmered before his eyes.

He was out for three whole days, as he would later learn from his rescuer. When he had awakened, he was in an alternate universe. Shiro was in a beautiful and comfortable bed with a huge oyster as it's headboard and frame. Shiro, in a panic threw off the blankets and jumped out of the bed. Just where the hell was he? Nobody was around, and since he could walk just fine, Shiro dashed out of the room and began investigating. He rounded the hallway that led to a huge window. That was when he realized something was terribly wrong. The window wasn't even a window, it was more like a gap in a piece of coral. It looked into a city that looked familiar and strange at the same time. Shiro's head hurt trying to make logic of everything. Was he underwater? Impossible. He had to be dead. Suddenly, he heard something crash and a scream. Shiro whirled his head to meet the eyes of a woman-like creature. She looked frightened.

"Uh, hi can you tell me--

"Intruder!" the woman had screamed and suddenly more fish-tail humanoids were rushing in. This time they looked unfriendly with shiny armor and spears. Shiro didn't even protest when they had seized him and threw him into a cell. He spent the first night in that cell alone, frightened and cold. The next night he heard a woman's voice.

"Father, I'm sure this human means no harm. He's probably lost--

"I don't want to hear it Allura," another voice, this time a middle-aged man's, interrupted sternly, "Go back to your chamber."

"But--"

"The people are scared," he interrupted again, "You know how dangerous it is to have a human down here."

There was silence. Abruptly, the door that lead down to the cells opened and Shiro looked up. His eyes fell upon the most beautiful creature his eyes ever laid on. In his confused haze, he wasn't sure as to what they were, but now everything was clear _. Nereid_ . So the tales that his mother told were true. He thought they were mere fodder to the imagination. Legends that were never to be discovered because they didn't _exist_. And yet, there was one right in front of his very own eyes.

The woman carried a plate in her hands, and slid it under the bars. She had a kind smile on her face, one that complemented her gorgeous complexion. Shiro was entranced by her beauty.

"I thought you'd like something to eat," the woman spoke. Shiro immediately recognized it as the woman he overheard earlier, "It's not pure human food, but it should be something digestible. You still eat fish, right?"

Shiro nodded as he took the food, "Thank you."

"No problem," the woman said as she swam closer to the bars of the cell, her expensive jewelry sparkling in the dim lighting. Shiro noticed she wore a crown on her head. There was only one type of person who would wear a crown on their head so informally, _royalty_.

"I'm Allura," the mermaid introduced herself, "And you are?"

"Shiro," he responded as he ate.

"Shiro," Allura repeated his name as if she was unfamiliar with the name, "What a lovely name." She jiggled the bars and glanced back at the door with a pensive thought. "Sorry for the inconvenience. If only I wasn't busy with my royal duties... I would have returned you to the surface as soon as you have woken up."

Shiro shrugged, "Well it's not so bad."

"Is it?" Allura raised an eyebrow, her blue eyes glaring at the flimsy makeshift bed behind Shiro, "Well at least you don't seem _too_ upset."

Shiro shrugged, "I was always taught to make light out of every situation."

The mermaid chuckled, her dark skin flushed, matching the same shade of her scales. Then her expression grew serious. She rested her head against the bars and Shiro stood up, approaching Allura cautiously. He slid his hand through the bars and cupped the woman's cheek. She gasped as she looked up her beautiful blue eyes meeting Shiro's gray ones. She smiled as he placed her hand on Shiro's.

"I promise I'll get you out," Allura whispered, "It was I who got you into this mess, and I'll be the one to get you out. I promise Shiro."

She rested her head against the bar and Shiro leaned his against the bar on his side. He smiled sadly as he whispered back, "Thanks for keeping me alive."

For the rest of the month, every night the princess would come in with Shiro's dinner and stay for a while. The two talked about whatever. Allura satisfied Shiro's curiosity by explaining the life of the Nereid, confirming or busting myths left and right. Shiro talked about his personal life on the surface. His friends, his college, his hobbies, his passions and fears. He mostly talked about his little brother Keith, who he told Allura every night how much he missed him. How was Keith, Shiro wondered every night. He was probably devastated. Over the month, his liking towards Allura had increased. Somehow she has gotten even more attractive with the more sides of her she had revealed. And his relationship with his rescuer has expanded to something Shiro would like to say is friendship. Perhaps something more.

Finally after a month of being imprisoned Allura came rushing down to Shiro's cell, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She had already delivered her dinner so Allura re-appearing was big news. She was so excited her tail whacked the cell's bars as she clasped the bars. Shiro stood up and met her at the bars.

"Tomorrow," she announced, "There'll be a meeting to decide what we'll do with you. I'll ensure you freedom, and we'll work our way through escape after that."

Shiro smiled and almost cried tears of joy. Instead he pried Allura's hand off of the bars and he brought one to his lips. He lightly kissed her knuckle.

"I know you'll do great." Shiro answered. What did he do to deserve such a caring being?

Allura blushed as she pulled away. She fixed her hair and bid farewell before retreating back to what Shiro assumed was her chamber. He wouldn't see her until late the next day. Somebody else had to bring him dinner. When she did come around, she was with guards and one of them was jangling keys.

Shiro stood up and patiently waited for the guards to unlock the cell doors. _He was free_. Shiro couldn't believe it. As soon as the guard unlocked the door and opened it, the princess dashed inside and hugged Shiro. It was nice to be embraced after a month. Shiro wrapped his arms around her and returned the embrace. When Allura pulled away, their foreheads were touching and blue eyes were lovingly looking into gray.

"You're not allowed back to the surface yet, but it's the next best thing. At least you're not rotting away in a cell," Allura explained.

"That's alright," Shiro answered, "I'm sure I'll like it here."

Shiro cupped her face and brought her lips to his own. After being trapped behind bars for a month, he at least wanted to know what it felt like to kiss the most beautiful Nereid of them all.

That's how Shiro finds himself currently in the streets of Altea, the kingdom Allura will be ruling over soon, hand in hand with the heir herself. They're currently in the market admiring the many things the Nereid make themselves. He's so distracted by the alien and intricate memorabilia, that he doesn't notice Allura's gaze has fixated onto something.

"Shiro," Allura tugs on Shiro's shirt. It's one that was tailored just for him last night by the royal palace's own tailors, a _very late_ welcome present from King Alfor, "Do you see that sparkly thing over there?"

Shiro turns his head to the direction Allura is pointing at. It's a stand where tons of jewelry are proudly reflecting the sunlight. While all are sparkly, Shiro knows the one Allura is referring to. It's a beautiful gold ring with a black pendant. It shines brighter than all the others.

Allura's eyes are wide like a child's when she begs Shiro to buy it for her to which Shiro responds he has nothing. Allura hands him money to pay for the ring and slips it on. Allura smiles as she admires the ring on her. It compliments her.

"Alright princess," one of the guards accompanying them says, "It's time we head back to the castle, dinner will be ready soon."

"Alright" Allura says as she beams at Shiro, "Shiro, you said you miss your brother right?"

"Yeah," Shiro answers giving Allura an incredulous look, "What about it?"

Allura smirks as if she knows something Shiro doesn't. "Well, do we have a surprise for you."

* * *

 

"Shiro's going to the dinner right?" Keith asks as he slips on another one of Lance's shirts. All day the two have strolled around the castle, Lance being his personal guide. They had held hands the entire time, the two talking in hushed voices, faces inches apart as if everything had to be discreet. Now that it's dinner time, Lance requested that Keith should wear something fancier. This one Lance is lending him is a white collar shirt with the golden emblem of the royal family embroidered onto the breast pocket. How does one sew under the sea will forever be unknown to Keith. At this point, Keith has decided everything is just because of the magic of the ocean and the brains of the Nereid. Lance _did_ say they can learn any human language in a day.

"Yup," Lance responds as he comes behind Keith adjusting the human's collar, "The brothers will finally be reunited." He turns the human around and buttons up his shirt, "And then you'll have a nice meal, get some rest and will return to the surface." Lance pauses at the last button and frowns for a split second before returning to a smile. Keith barely registers the frown.

Keith smiles back at Lance and grabs one of Lance's wrists. Lance freezes his breath hitching as Keith's hands run over Lance's arm, feeling the muscles, the soft skin, and the rough blue scales from his fins. Keith smiles as his hands travel up Lance's shoulders, and neck until his hand stops at Lance's chin. The merman's face is crimson, and Keith is sure his face matches the same shade as he pulls away.

"Sorry," Keith says, "My mind wandered there."

Lance smirks as he wipes off his flush, "Your head wasn't the only thing wandering right now."

Keith scoffs as he lightly punches Lance's bare shoulder, "Shut up."

Lance dramatically winces as he rubs his shoulder, "Stop hitting me Keith."

"Stop hitting _on_ me," Keith retorts, a smirk forming on his face.

Lance pauses as blue and purple eyes met. There's silence for a few seconds before the two giggle like school girls.

"Prince Lance," a servant knocks on the door, "Dinner is ready your highness."

Lance turns to the door and calls out, "In a minute!" The brunette then offers his arm to the human, a playful smile adorning his face as he says, "Shall we?"

Keith smiles, playing around as he takes the arm and rests his head on Lance's shoulder, "We shall."

Lance opens the door and allows the servant to escort the couple to the dining hall. As they walk through the palace, Keith remembers the areas Lance has shown him earlier, and admires the beauty of it all over again. Under the sea, there are no portraits hung on walls of previous rulers. Instead, there are statues of former kings and queens across the hallways. The statues are marble-like, perhaps formed from many molten rocks in the ocean. On the pedestals of the statues are coral and anemones growing like plants, where small fishes swim about and live their life. Keith admires the ever changing color of the coral walls, and the way small schools of fish flutter about the palace.

"Unlike humans, we don't disturb the natural habitat of our wildlife," Lance had explained during the tour earlier, "Instead, we bend around with the environment so that Nereid and fish can live together in peace."

Keith had smiled and rested his head against Lance's shoulder, letting the merman whisk him away as he thought about how the world would look if humans had done the same.

They finally reach the huge golden doors that lead into the dining hall and the servant courteously nods at the guards as they let the servant and his companions pass by. They open the door to reveal a glowing room, filled with jellyfish floating about, giving off beautiful hues of silver and gold in the otherwise white room. The main table is big enough to fit thirty people and overlooks the entire city. Keith believes that it's the best view of the entire kingdom from the palace. Towards the back of the room is a smaller table meant to have fewer than ten people seated where three people are already there. The first one Keith recognizes is the king, who had already taken his seat at the head of the table. Then there's the princess when even with her back turned away, her long white hair is still recognizable. And then there's the other one. Clearly a human from the legs. He has short black hair, Keith knows this guy has an under-cut and if he turns around one would see the dyed white bangs he has. The human is wearing a similar white collar shirt to Keith's except it fits him perfectly. He's wearing the same pants he wore on the day he had disappeared. He looks thinner from when Keith last saw him, but it was nonetheless him. Keith can recognize his brother from a mile away.

"Shiro," Keith says in a weak voice.

His brother turns around and gasps at the sight of Keith. As Keith approaches him, Shiro smiles, "Hey Keith."

Keith breaks away from Lance to hug his brother. His brother accepts the embrace without hesitance. Keith can hear Shiro's choked sobs as he clings to Keith for dear life. Keith holds back his tears.

"I'm glad you're okay," Keith whispers into his brother's ear.

Shiro chuckles.

Alfor clears his throat as he says, "Please, there are so many seats eagerly waiting for somebody to sit on them."

"Oh, right," Shiro answers as he breaks away from Keith and takes a seat next to Allura. Keith heads to the other side of the table and takes a seat next to Lance.

Immediately, servants come rushing into the hall with platters of food and begin serving them. Keith's eyes widen in fascination of all of the food being served. Fish, cooked in every single possible way laid around. Platters full of shrimp with scallops hang around and Keith eyes everything, afraid that taking it all shows bad manners. Alfor, noticing Keith's intense gazes chuckles.

"Dig in," Alfor says, "It's all for you."

Keith smiles as he begins to grab everything he can fit onto his plate, the others following soon after. The atmosphere is relaxed as they eat, with occasional conversations here and there. Allura talks about her day at the market with Shiro and proudly shows her father the ring she convinced Shiro to buy for her. Lance talks about his day with Keith at the palace.

"Keith," Shiro says as he cuts a piece of mackerel, "How did you get here?"

"Same as you," Keith answers nonchalantly, "Out on a boat and drowned."

Shiro looks quizzically at his little brother, "That's strange, I thought after that boating accident five years ago you'd never want to be on a boat again."

Keith almost drops his fork, "Shiro, I was twelve then, of course I'd say that. I'm seventeen now, that fear has been long gone."

"Whoa whoa whoa," Lance joins into the conversation, and turns to Shiro, 'What happened five years ago?"

"Don't," Keith growls at Shiro with a glare.

This threatening glare is something immune to Shiro after many years, and the black-haired man smiles as he explains, "Long story short we were on a boating trip on a lake and it was really windy that day. Keith, being the hyper-active rash child he was, leaned over the railing and fell overboard."

"Yeah, but I got over it," Keith defends himself, averting his eyes and cursing his red face.

"He was so traumatized he refused to even be by water for about half a year," Shiro adds with a teasing smile.

"Hey!" Keith protests, "Don't tell them embarrassing things like that!"

"What?" Shiro chuckles, blinking innocently.

Lance snickers as he teasingly jabs Keith's side, "That's adorable."

Keith swats the merman's hands away as he protests. It only seems to make the brunette chuckle more.

They're about done with dinner when the king dismisses all the servants. Allura and Lance immediately quiet down as they await for them to leave. Shiro and Keith, too wrapped up in their reunion don't notice the odd behavior at first. When Keith realizes Lance isn't prodding into their conversation Keith realizes the Nereid are staring at the remaining servants discretely. The brothers immediately, stop talking as the last of the servants leave. As the door shuts, silence looms over the five of them for a good while until finally King Alfor speaks.

"Lance," Alfor says, "When is Keith returning to the surface?"

"Tomorrow," Lance responds, "I plan to do it early while everyone's asleep."

"Good," the king says, "Shiro, I'm sure you've stayed down here for too long. How about you return tomorrow with your brother?"

Shiro's eyes widen, "Really?"

Alfor nods, "Allura and I had a talk last night and after meeting both you and your brother, I'm sure you can be trusted to keep us a secret. I'll make sure nobody knows that you returned."

"Father," Allura asks in a hushed voice, obviously touched, "What made you change your mind?"Alfor smiles at his daughter and winks. He doesn't say anything but it seems like it's enough of an answer for the princess as she says, "Thank you."

"I already have it all arranged. The humans will be accompanied by trusted people back to the surface tomorrow."

Lance looks up, "Wait, I promised Keith I'll return him--"

Alfor shakes his head, "I can't afford to rise any suspicion. You'll have to stay here."

"But--" Lance looks conflicted and obviously displeased before he nods solemnly, "Okay."

The king smiles as he stands up, "Well, it was nice meeting you. I hope you enjoyed your stay. Have a safe trip back." He leaves the table leaving the four alone in the dining hall.

Lance immediately stands up and offers his hand to Keith, "C'mon, I haven't shown you the garden yet, and you _have_ to see it at night before you leave."

Keith smiles as he takes Lance's hand, "Bye Shiro, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Enjoy your time!" Shiro calls out, a knowing smile on his face.

They delve into the deepest parts of the palace, into they reach a tunnel. Lance turns around and winks at Keith before guiding him under. The tunnel is completely out of glass and Keith could see that the moon is already out. The moonlight reflected off of the glass creating purplish hues. The tunnel turns into a stone pavilion at the end, which stretches out into a sea garden. Thousands of corals varying in shapes and sizes expand for miles on all sides of Keith. Seaweed flows peacefully among them, along with sponges and anemones. Lance pauses at the edge of the pavilion and turns to Keith with a wide smile.

"The Garden of Altea," Lance says, "It's beautiful isn't it?"

Keith nods as he soaks in the breathtaking view of the garden, among the plant life, are statues of Nereid and deep-sea creatures. Marine life thrives everywhere, from the coral reefs to the seaweed lawn ranging from all sorts of species. Keith doesn't know the name of most but he can easily name almost every fish that's in Finding Nemo in the garden. Keith can spot turtles swimming aimlessly with schools of fish and nurse sharks circling for prey. A dolphin spots the boys and joyfully swims over to them.

"Roxy!" Lance exclaims as the dolphin butts her head against Lance's chest. It clicks and whistles excitedly as Lance pets it. Lance turns to Keith, his blue eyes sparking in the moonlight. He takes the hand he's had in Keith's this entire time and guides it over to Roxy, "Keith, this is my dolphin Roxy. Roxy, this is Keith."

Keith hesitates a bit as Lance guides his hand over the smooth skin of the mammal. Lance senses Keith's uncertainty and smiles reassuringly, "Roxy doesn't bite, it's alright."

Keith's hand smooths over the dolphin and it whistles blissfully. Keith smiles at it's cuteness and looks up at Lance, "I think she likes me."

Lance chuckles as the dolphin nods in agreement, butting her head against Keith playfully, "I think so too."

Roxy turns around and flips her tail playfully, clicking and whistling. Lance clicks back and pets her back soothingly. He kisses the dolphin's back and pats it lovingly before offering Keith his hand.

"C'mon," Lance says, "Let's go deeper, it gets better."

"It gets better?" Keith asks in disbelief.

"Uh huh," Lance answers as he guides Keith onto Roxy. "Since everything after the pavilion is an abyss, Roxy will guide you through the garden."

Keith nods as he holds onto Roxy's fins and wrap his legs around her body. She clicks excitedly at Keith and Keith smiles as he pets her.

"Atta girl," Keith says. Roxy reminds him of Hana, his horse back up at the surface, "Okay, Lance, lead the way."

Lance winks as he begins to swim, "Hold on tight, Roxy likes to race. Right baby?" Roxy whistles in response, "Alright, let's go!"

They swim through the garden and Keith is mesmerized by the beauty of it all. In the night, the moonlight gives the place an eerie glow. All of the coral glow in the dark, and the jellyfish give off purple hues all over the garden. Keith smiles as he feels the water rush through his face. He laughs freely as they swim across the expansive place. Roxy follows close behind to Lance, his blue tail shimmering in the night. So mermaids _do_ glow. They continue swimming until they reach an island with gorgeous purple corals, surrounding a gorgeous gigantic oyster bed. Lance stops as he turns to Keith and helps the human off of the dolphin.

The two of them pet Roxy before dismissing her. She swims away whistling a song only native to the Nereid. When Keith turns around Lance is laying on the oyster bed looking suggestively at Keith.

"C'mon," Lance pats the empty spot next to him, "This is the comfiest oyster in the entire sea."

Keith nods as he sits down next to Lance. The merman springs up and tilts his head at the human. Keith blushes from the intense gaze those blue eyes give him, and he averts his eyes.

"What?" Keith shyly asks.

"You're beautiful," Lance admits, "And this garden, it compliments you so well. I want to capture this beautiful shot and engrave it in my memory forever."

Keith chuckles as he looks around the garden, "Yeah, it's beautiful. I should get back into painting so I can paint this."

"You were a painter?" Lance asks.

"Yeah," Keith admits, "But I lost inspiration. This garden however... I should get back into it. I'm sure Shiro would appreciate it too. He used to love everything I painted." Keith stretches out, "I can't wait to get back to the surface."

Lance's expression falls at the mention of that and Keith catches it. He turns to the merman who is smiling sadly.

"Lance?" Keith asks.

"These past few hours have been lovely," Lance says in a quiet voice as he looks up at the sky, "I'm going to miss you Keith."

Keith's heart skips a beat as he flushes and admits, "I'll miss you too."

The merman looks up at Keith, blue eyes meeting purple ones as he reaches back and unclasps his necklace, "Take this necklace, to remember me. That way...we'll always be together." The necklace is golden with a purple seashell as it's only charm. Lance puts it on Keith and Keith lifts it up, examining the fine craft of the necklace. He couldn't believe Lance would give him this. Surely... Keith looks at Lance who is staring at Keith, his eyes looking so sparkly in the moonlight. Keith breath hitches. He's beautiful when he looks like he's going to cry. A sad kind of beautiful that makes his heart ache.

Suddenly, Keith doesn't want to leave Lance's side. Their time together has been too short. He wishes...what does he wish for? More time? That Lance wasn't a merman? That he wasn't human?

Keith takes Lance's face in his hands and lean forward until their lips touch. Lance's lips are surprisingly soft for being underwater all the time. They taste like the sea, like Keith expected they would. Lance kisses him back, and it fills Keith with a warmness he never imagined he could ever feel. He could get used to this, the feel of Lance's lips against his. Their hands intertwined, and thumbs brushing over knuckles. Keith wants it. He wants Lance forever by his side.

When they pull apart Keith whispers, "Come with me. Back to the surface. You have legs, we can make a living together."

Lance's blue eyes sparkle with a glimmer of hope. Keith knows Lance wants to, and that it's possible but his eyes begin to sparkle again as he looks ready to cry. "You know I can't."

"Why not?" Keith asks.

"You know exactly why," Lance says as his hands play with the necklace he had just given to Keith, "I have duties."

Keith cups Lance's face and stares directly into his eyes, "But you have a choice. You can drop it all to be together." He can't leave him behind. Not yet. Not ever.

"I can't," Lance says in a quiet voice as he sniffles, "Keith I love you, but we can't be together."

"I know," Keith answers as he feels his own eyes starting to shed tears. He loves Lance too, "I wish..." Keith never finishes his sentence. He's not sure what he wishes for.

"Yeah," Lance says as he rests his head on Keith's shoulder, "I wish..." Lance isn't sure what he wishes for either.

Sometimes, fate is cruel.

-

They return to Lance's room in silence, hand in hand but refusing to look at the other. They shouldn't be distant. Keith thinks. They should be doing whatever they can on their last night together.

Instead, Lance points to Keith's now folded clothes, "The maids washed them. You should put them back on before you return to the surface." The merman doesn't spare Keith a glance as he plops onto the bed, "Goodnight."

Keith follows Lance's example and curls up next to him. His heart feels so heavy, disappointed with the atmosphere, "Night."

They're silent for a few minutes, both aware that the other is awake but neither wanting to acknowledge it. Keith turns around and grabs his pillow, nestling into it and trying hard not to cry.

"It's best this way," Lance croaks after what feels like forever. Keith lifts his head to find that Lance is still turned away from him, "I don't want either one of us to get hurt in the end."

"It's already too late," Keith replies, "We're in too deep. This is going to hurt more than if we do something."

Lance turns around, and Keith gasps. His face is brimming with tears. Keith reaches out to cup Lance's face but the mermaid slaps the human's hand away. Keith's eyes widen and he feels himself gasp.

"I love you Keith," Lance confesses as he weeps, "Can't you see that?"

Keith feels his own tears starting to prick as he nods in affirmation, "I know."

" _Please_ ," Lance begs, "Stay."

Keith leans forward and kisses the top of Lance's head, "You know why I can't. I thought we already discussed this."

"No," Lance objects, "We discussed on why I can't come with you. We're now discussing on why you need to stay," Lance reaches out to Keith's hand and intertwines their fingers, "here. With _me_."

"Lance, I love it here but I don't belong under the sea. I'm not a Nereid. I'm _human_."

Lance's eyes begin to water up even more and Keith's heart begins to fall apart. The two snuggle next to each other, and Lance wraps an arm around Keith. Keith leans into Lance's touch as Lance bites his lip. Unlike Pidge's his teeth look like normal human teeth.

"I'm never going to forget you," Lance admits, feeling defeated.

"I'm going to miss you," Keith confesses,disappointment in his voice.

Their lips meet once again, the two of them holding back their sobs as they savor the taste of each other once again. It's going to be a rough night.

* * *

 

Allura opens the door that leads to the joined balcony in her room. Shiro follows her outside and looks up at the night sky. The stars can't be seen because they are too dim and the ripples from the water cover them. The moon shines a bright white beam into the sea and Shiro admires the view. During his time in the cells, the moonlight always reached inside and it was one of the few things that kept Shiro from going insane.

"I'm happy that you are finally returning to the surface," Allura speaks up, her hand on her heart, "It was my fault that you got stuck down here in the first place." The mermaid turns around and leans over the railing, looking up at the sky, "You don't deserve eternity down here when you belong up there."

Shiro looks up at the sky and then looks at Allura. Sure he misses the surface, but he's going to miss Allura more. She's always taken care of him, and is over all an amazing person. Shiro takes the princess' hand and smiles.

"It's not your fault," Shiro assures her, looking up at the sky again. _Soon_ . "It's because of," Shiro indicates the entire kingdom below, " _this_."

Allura sighs, her blue eyes sparkling from the lights. "You're right." She takes a deep breath before slipping off her ring, the one she had bought earlier at the market, "But it doesn't change the fact that you're leaving and may never return. So," she takes Shiro's hand and slips it on his finger. The black stone shimmers in the moonlight. "Take this."

Shiro looks down at the ring and admires the way it looks. However, it looks ethereal on Allura, and Shiro wishes she could slip it on again, let him savor how beautiful Allura is once more. He frowns instead and meets Allura's eyes.

"I can't take this," Shiro says in a soft voice as he goes to take it off. Allura's hand stops Shiro with a gentle touch. Gray eyes look up to find the princess smiling as she lifts Shiro's hand up.

"Take it," she insists, "As a token to remember our short time together."

Her eyes begin to brim with tears and she wipes them away herself. Shiro could tell she was struggling to compose herself. Shiro cups her face before bringing her lips to his own. He kisses her like there's no tomorrow. Allura smiles into the kiss. Her soft lips against his is the only thing occupying his head and fills his entire body with a warmth. Allura pulls away, her lips slightly apart and her blue eyes glazed over.

"You're glowing," Allura whispers as if she's in a haze.

"I get that a lot," Shiro teases.

"No," Allura shakes her head as she looks down at Shiro, "You're literally glowing."

"What?" Shiro asks as he looks down and _wow_ , Allura's right. His entire lower half is glowing a faded purple, some of the sparkle from the glow has spread onto his torso, his arms and perhaps even higher. Shiro shields his eye from the blinding light and when the light finally fades Shiro gasps. _He has a tail._ One just like Allura, with black scales and occasional purple ones.

Allura covers her opened mouth with her hand as she mutters, "Oh quiznak!"

"I'm, I'm a Nereid?!" Shiro shrieks. How is that possible? He knew both of his parents and both of them were human.

"Impossible," Allura says, "How in the world?"

"I don't know," Shiro replies, "One second I have legs and the next--"

 _His mother._ Shiro's eyes widen as he remembers. Of course! She was the one who always told him stories about the Nereid. Could it be that she has been one all along?

"My mother," Shiro says, "Before my father and her divorced, she always tucked me into bed telling me stories of the Nereid. I never thought she could've been part mermaid... that _I'm_ part Nereid..."

"Perhaps the Nereid ancestry is dated far back enough that not even she knew," Allura says, "One drop of Nereid blood makes you Nereid," Allura looks down at Shiro's tail, "Though I'm surprised it took so long for them to be activated..." the princess looks up at Shiro, blue eyes meeting gray, "Does this mean that Keith is also part Nereid?"

"I don't know," Shiro replies, "We have different mothers."

"I see," Allura replies, her blues eyes drooping a bit, "Shiro?"

"Yes?"

"Why don't you stay here? You're one of us now, you'll fit right in."

"I can't abandon Keith," Shiro says, "Not yet anyways." Shiro looks down at his tail before he sighs, "But I'll make a deal. Every last Friday of the month I'll come to the shore to spend the weekend with you in the sea."

"I'd like that," Allura replies and Shiro can tell she's lying. She'd rather have Shiro forever by her side, but it's the best thing Shiro can offer. Their worlds are just too different that it's a miracle that they even collided in the first place.

Allura bites her lip and her eyes begin to water. Shiro wipes the tears that are beginning to drip down the sides of the mermaid's face. She looks up at him and smiles.

"Well it's better than never seeing you again right?" she asks with a chuckle. Shiro wraps his arms around her and kisses the top of her forehead.

"Of course," Shiro sighs, "But uh... how can I get my legs back?"

Allura nods, "It's easy. I'll explain it to you..."

* * *

 

In the early morning light, Keith slips out of Lance's arms and heads out of the room. He closes the door behind him quietly, so that no noise is made. He takes a deep breath, calming his beating heart before walking down. Soon, he'll be back on the surface again. While he misses the ground and trees and his horse, what matters to him the most are Shiro and Lance. While he gets Shiro when he returns to the surface, he'll have to leave Lance under the sea. A tough decision but he knows where he belongs. He's a human after all, with legs meant for walking not for swimming under the sea.

He rounds a corner to find a maid and a butler talking quietly in the hallway. Keith hides behind one of the statues and eavesdrops them.

"I heard that there'll be a few Nereid going to the surface today," the maid says, "Nobody knows why but I'm assuming it's got to do with some border patrol."

"It's about time," the butler says, "We can't have humans running around here anymore, not unless they have ancestry."

The maid hums in agreement, polishing the statue across from her, "Yes, it is about time. There's also another rumor floating around, about that human..."

"Is it the smuggling rumors?" he asks.

She shakes her head, "Even more preposterous, the human is part--"

A hand rests on Keith's shoulder and he gasps as he turns around. His eyes quickly meet the face of his brother and he sighs in relief, gripping his shirt as he exhales.

"You scared me," Keith whispers.

"Sorry," Shiro apologizes before gripping his little brother's shoulder, "but we need to leave this place before they discover you."

Keith nods as he lets his brother's hand slips down to his elbow and drag him out of there. The siblings hear the fading conversation between the servants before reaching an empty hallway. Keith doesn't recognize the hallway, Lance has never taken him in there. Shiro holds a hand to his lip before promptly opening the door. On the other side is a bedroom, one bigger than Lance's with beautiful plants and decoration everywhere. Instead of a window, there's an entrance to a balcony, the doors to them shut with Allura standing in front of them, looking down into her kingdom. Keith comes to the conclusion that the room belongs to no other but the princess.

"Princess," Shiro says, "He's here."

The mermaid turns around, white hair flowing with the current of the water. She nods as she comes over to Shiro and plants a sweet kiss on his cheek before heading out the door, closing it behind her. As the door shuts Shiro turns to Keith his face telling Keith he has something to address. He feels like a child again, where Shiro is about to either chastise Keith for giving the middle-finger to an innocent kid his age or have a discussion about life. Keith crosses his arms and awaits for Shiro's words.

"I am part Nereid," Shiro confesses.

Keith blinks, "You're part _what_?"

"Last night," Shiro says cautiously, "While Allura and I were exchanging our goodbyes in private...well, I somehow have awoken my tail?"

Keith drops his crossed arms, "How?" Keith asks with a little hope. If Shiro has a tail, could it possibly mean that he too...?

Shiro bites his lip, "I'm not exactly sure how it happened, one moment I was on my two feet and then a glow happened, and the next I had a tail."

"Show me," Keith demands desperately, "Show me how you do it."

"It's not easy," Shiro sighs, "Even after Allura's explanation, I'm not sure I can just willingly call it on and off..."

"Please Shiro," Keith begs, "I need to see how it's done." He needs to know if he can do it too. He wants to be able to awaken his too, so he can stay down in the sea with Lance and Shiro and the others. It's his only chance of keeping everything he's ever wanted.

"Okay," Shiro complies closing his eyes as he concentrates. Keith watches as Shiro fiddles with something on his hand. A second look reveals that it's a ring, a black one that looks like the one Allura had the day before. Suddenly, a light begins to emerge and it engulfs Shiro. It's so bright Keith has to shield his eyes in fear that he'll be blinded. When the light suddenly fades a complete stranger stands before him. The stranger looks like Shiro, Keith can see the features of his older brother but do not be fooled, it's not his brother. His brother isn't a merman with a beautiful shimmering tail. His ears aren't pointy like the merman and he doesn't have fins at his elbows. Keith takes a step back and looks at Shiro with wide eyes. He can't believe it. _This_ is his brother?

"It's alright Keith," Shiro assures approaching his little brother, "I'm still me."

Keith nods like he's in a daze and closes his eyes. "I know. It's just..."

"It's odd isn't it?" Shiro chuckles, "It'll take some time getting used to, huh?"

"Can I...?" Keith asks reaching out to touch his brother's tail.

"Of course," Shiro says letting his brother test to see if the scales before him are _real_.

"This isn't real," Keith says under his breath, "And yet," Keith thinks back to Shiro's entire life. Shiro's mother telling her son stories of the Nereid since the older brother was born. Shiro's love for the sea for as long as Keith could remember. Shiro's fascination with it's marine life that he even became a marine biologist. It was like all signs pointed to the fact that Shiro's destined to be in the water for the rest of his life, "it makes perfect sense." Shiro catches Keith's words and chuckles, "I guess you're right."

"Will you be staying down here then?" Keith asks.

"Well," Shiro says, "It depends..."

Keith bites his lip. He understands what Shiro's decision is based on. Whether or not Keith could also be part merman. Keith removes his hand and straightens his back, "What do I have to do?"

"Keith, there's no telling if this will work, remember that we have different mothers and that it's hard to awake your tail at first... if you want me to come with you, we don't even have to try--

"No," Keith interrupts. He has to do this. For Shiro, for _Lance_. Keith closes his eyes and clenches his fist, "Tell me what I have to do."

"Just think about something that connects you to the sea, feel yourself become one with the water," Shiro encourages with his instruction, "But Keith are you sure?"

"I'm positive," Keith huffs in protest. Who does his brother take him for? "Have a little faith."

Shiro is silent for a few moments before he sighs, "I always have faith Keith."

Keith concentrates his thoughts on why he wants to stay. He thinks about his brother, how they've always been together and how Keith isn't ready to have him suddenly ripped out of his hands. He thinks about the world of the Nereid and how everything is strange and magical and how there's still so much for Keith to learn about them. He thinks about the garden, and Roxy and future visits back there with the others. He thinks about the people who he has met in the mere hours he's been in the sea. He thinks about Allura and Hunk and Pidge and how he wants to get to know them better and eventually befriend them all. He especially thinks about Lance. He thinks about the prince's smile, his dark skin and how warm it feels when it touches Keith. He thinks his blue eyes, his blue fins and tail, hell even his blue _freckles_ , and how Keith wants to take the time to count every single scale the merman has on his body. He thinks about Lance's captivating voice and the way his lips feel against Keith. Keith's mind wanders to a possible future the two could have. Lazy morning kisses, holding hands while strolling down in public, falling asleep next to each other, and adopting a dog or something, wait, _what_?

Immediately the image of two merman under the sea together shifts into a normal human life of two ordinary boys who love each other. They have a humble house with a white-picket fence. Lance is a successful businessman and Keith is a critically acclaimed artist. Keith kisses him good-bye each morning and spends the day painting. When Lance comes home they share a meaningful kiss before cooking dinner and relaxing into the night by settling into the living room's cheap couch and watching 80s movies. His heart belongs to the land where the grass is green and there are blue skies. The realization hits Keith like a truck and he begins to feel tears streaming down his face.

"Keith?" Shiro asks with concern.

Keith opens his eyes to find Shiro has returned back to his human form. He's standing before his younger brother with worry written across his face. Keith wipes a tear away and holds back a sob. He doesn't belong in the sea after all. No matter how hard he tries, it's set in stone: he's human.

"I'm sorry," Shiro says as he hugs his little brother. Keith welcomes the embrace as he cries into Shiro's shoulder, "I'm sorry."

Keith clings onto Shiro as he wails, "Why does that idiot have to insist on staying here when he can come with me?"

"I don't know," Shiro sighs, "But it's alright, you'll move on."

Keith doesn't _want_ to move on. And he can't bear the thought of Lance with anybody but him. He wants to be the only person Lance has ever loved, and vice versa.

-

Keith sits atop of Lance's bed, his hand atop of a sleeping Lance's as he leans down pressing his lips against the merman's. Lance's eyes flutter open, his eyes clouded from sleep as they focus on Keith. He smiles lazily.

"Good morning beautiful," Lance says.

"Morning," Keith returns the smile as he gets off the bed. His smile quickly drops as he turns to the door, "It's time."

"Oh..." the bed creaks and Lance stands up to join Keith by his side. The smile on his face is gone. Keith thumbs the shell of the necklace he's been given and turns away from the merman.

"We should...get going...."

"Yeah," Lance replies solemnly.

"I'll meet you in the foyer, yeah?" Keith says as he leans over to Lance, planting a kiss on his forehead.

Lance nods, "Yeah."

Keith roams the halls alone, looking at all the details of the palace. He wants to etch everything into his memory, for it'll be the last time his eyes will ever witness them.

Pidge and Hunk are at the foyer and the two perk up at the sight of their best friend's lover. Pidge smiles teasingly as she leans forward, resting her chin between her hands.

"So, what was last night in the lovers' chamber like? Lots of passionate love with declarations and desperate intimacy?" she teases, her fangs glistening in the light coming from the stained-glass windows above.

Keith takes the only chair available in the foyer and slouches. He frowns as he says in a soft voice, "More like ghost touches and the sound of mourning over the lost of a loved one."

Pidge's smile is wiped clean off of her face when she hears that. A sympathetic look on her face emerges as she says, "Yikes, sorry to hear that Keith."

Hunk approaches Keith and rests a tentative hand in his shoulder, "It's alright. Perhaps, it's just not meant to be."

Keith leans back on his chair and looks up at the ceiling, studying the translucent ceiling above him. Unbeknownst to him, Pidge lightly slaps Hunk's shoulder. As Hunk gives Pidge a look she points to Keith and mouths, "Comfort him." Hunk whispers back, "I'm trying," before being met with Pidge's stare.

"Try harder," she replies.

Sighing Hunk speaks up again, "But uh, I know you really like Lance, and he likes you..." Keith meets Hunk face as he frowns.

"Why does he have to stay down here? Allura is a princess couldn't she rule Altea by herself?" Keith asks, "And since Lance can live on the surface as a human, it wouldn't be a problem if he came with me."

Hunk licks his lips as he ponders, searching for the right words to say, "Well, it's a bit complicated on why Lance has to stay. It's something nobody likes to talk about really, considering that they are--

"I get it," Keith lifts a hand, not wanting to hear what he believes Hunk is about to tell him.

"For the record, neither Allura or Lance are too thrilled about it," Pidge butts in, "but they have always placed the interests of their kingdom over themselves. They're both sacrificial people, I think it's in their genes or something."

The human nods in understanding a sly smile on his face as he thinks about the prince, "He does come off with a everybody-is-more-important-than-me vibe."

Pidge snorts, "I mean, he did save a complete stranger of another species from drowning."

Keith chuckles, "Yeah." He looks down at the ground and twiddles with his fingers, "But uh, that's not the only thing bothering me."

"It's not?" Pidge asks.

"Is this about your brother?" Hunk questions.

Keith raises an eyebrow, "How did you--"

"The servants here are gossips," Pidge answers, "It's hard to keep things a secret when all the maids spill anything they can get their hands on. There are even whispers about you in the palace but we've managed to dial it down."

"Oh," Keith perks up at that information. He never knew that people had gotten word that he too is here, "I didn't know."

"We didn't want to worry you or Lance," Hunk explains, "He already has enough on his plate."

"I see," Keith responds, "Well, you guys are right. I'm torn about something and it's related to Shiro."

"Lemme guess," Pidge intertwines her fingers together and rests her chin on top, smiling as she says, "You just found out your brother has Nereid blood and has been able to awaken his tail, while you are completely human. You will have to return to the surface but Shiro has the option to stay. He's coming with you, but you don't want him to leave because of you. Correct?"

"Correct."

Pidge lifts her necklace, a beautiful gold chain with a green clam. She opens up the clam and shows Keith what's inside her locket. It's a photo of three humans with similar characteristics. Keith quickly realizes that they are a family. In the middle are the children, no older than middle school, a boy and a girl. The boy wears glasses and has an arm wrapped loving around his sister's shoulder. The girl has long hair, the same shade of brown as the rest of her family. She has a simple floral dress on, white with the purple floral design around her skirt. Behind them, is a man, most likely the father who has his hands placed on both of their shoulders. He too wears glasses. They look like they are close, just like he is with Shiro. Written in sharpie at the bottom is a message.

 **Sam, Katie and Matt Holt:** _**Family Forever** _

Why does Pidge have this photo? Keith looks quizzically at the mermaid. She points to the girl in the photograph and smiles, "That's me."

Of course, Keith looks at the picture again and realizes she hasn't changed much since the photo was taken. She's obviously older, and her hair is twice as long, and now she doesn't have _legs,_ but everything else remains the same.

"You're part human," Keith says, "And your actual name is Katie?"

She nods, "Pidge is a nickname I've acquired in my time here." She hesitates for a second before continuing, "That photo was from five years ago...? It was taken right before my dad took my brother on a trip with him off the coast of Australia. I was jealous, naturally, I've always had a love for science just as big as theirs and they knew I loved the Great Barrier Reefs, but I was too young to join. The expedition took them to the south, closer to Antarctica and one night the ship crashed into an iceberg. It sank to the bottom of the ocean. No survivors," Pidge grimaces, clearly not over the tragedy, "Or so we thought. Months later I was at Mandalay Beach with mother when I saw something strange. I went to investigate but my foot got caught in something and I couldn't free myself. While struggling, I failed to notice a huge incoming wave and it threw me underwater. I thought I'd drown but somebody managed to rescue me. My brother. Except he wasn't the same. Matt had a tail. Dad did too. After the reunion the three of us returned to the surface to be reunited with mother. However things never stayed the same. Matt and I lost interest in the surface and wanted to keep returning to the waters. Dad must have it had too, but he never admitted it. He wanted to stay with mother and accompany her. He chose her over the water, and allowed us to come back to the ocean because he loved us, and knew we'd be fine..."

Pidge closes the clam and takes a deep breath, "What I'm trying to say is, don't let anything stop you. If you want Shiro to stay, tell him. He won't love you any less than he already does. I know my parents still love me despite the fact we hardly see each other anymore."

Keith smiles, "Thanks Pidge."

"Speaking of which," Hunk turns around, "It seems like it's time."

Shiro, Allura, and Lance were coming down the hallway to the foyer. The three of them looked gloomy, knowing that it was the end. Keith stood up as he waved his hand to attract their attention. As soon as they entered the foyer, Allura and Shiro turn to each other.

"Keep your promise okay?," Allura says.

"Always," Shiro promises before crashing his lips against hers. When they pull apart, they hug, Shiro planting a kiss on top of Allura's head.

"Shiro!" Keith calls out, breaking the two apart from their moment.

Shiro smiles at his brother, "Ready to go?"

Keith smiles back, "Yeah."

Shiro pats Keith's back as he nods his head towards Lance, "Shouldn't you say goodbye to him?"

"In a moment," Keith says, "I have somebody else I want to say goodbye to."

Shiro raises an eyebrow as if he's shocked that there's somebody else Keith wants to say goodbye to but doesn't voice it, instead he says, "Well, say goodbye to them then."

Keith falters. Should he do it? This decision of his will determine if he's going back alone or not and he doesn't want to abandon his family...

Keith's eyes wanders towards Lance, who is trying his best to keep a happy expression on his face and Allura who is doing the same thing. It's not fair that he has to take away Shiro from Allura just because he can't be with Lance. Keith takes a deep breath before hugging his brother.

"Keith...?" Shiro asks.

Keith leans up to his brother's ear and whispers, "Take care of Lance for me alright?"

Shiro freezes for a second, processing what's happening. Then Keith feels familiar strong arms around him and Keith leans into the touch. There's no argument, for Shiro already understands Keith's decision. He may not like it, but he knows that it's already hard enough for Keith.

"Take care of yourself okay?" Shiro pleads.

"I will."

They reluctantly pull apart, knowing that this may be the last time they'll ever see each other. Keith turns to Lance and feels his heart pounding as he approaches the merman. Lance's blue eyes are glistening, meeting Keith's. He feels like he's being pulled in by Lance's beauty and he almost blurts out his second thoughts. He holds them back and continues approaching his lover until they're inches away from each other. Keith pauses the two silently staring at each other before Keith grabs the back of Lance's head and pulls his lips towards his own. He kisses Lance fervently, conveying all of his emotions and saying everything he wants to without uttering a word. Lance's arms wrap around Keith's and pulls him closer. The human runs his hands through the merman's hair savoring the feel of it under his fingertips.

When they pull apart, their eyes quickly find each other and Keith finds himself unable to pull away. They stare into each other's eyes for what feels like forever, their foreheads touching, Keith's hand resting on Lance's shoulder.

"I love you," Keith confesses, Lance's eyes begin to water as he nods.

"I love _you_ ," Lance says back as he sighs into Keith's shoulder. His hand comes to the necklace he gave Keith the night before and traces the outline of the shell, "Please take care of yourself and live a long, prosperous, happy life. I can't bear the thought of you living an unhappy life."

Keith smiles sadly, "You too."

He pecks Lance's forehead before separating and taking Hunk's and Pidge's side.

"Ready?" Hunk asks.

"Ready," Keith exhales as he lets the Nereid take him up to the surface.

"Bye!" Allura waves, "Have a safe trip back!"

Shiro comes up next to the mermaid and takes her hand, now in his merman form and shouts, "Bye Keith!"

Next to the couple Lance looks up at Keith with the most adoring eyes in the sea. Keith smiles down at Lance as he transcends. Lance smiles back.

As he comes up, the sea below him becomes mysterious and the kingdom of Altea becomes hidden by schools of fish and the graveyards of whales. It's like being in an airplane and watching as everything gets smaller but weirder.

"I haven't been to the surface in a long time," Pidge comments along the way, "Maybe I should visit dad sometime."

"You should," Keith responds as he looks up at the surface, traces of the sky beginning to form in his vision, "He probably misses you."

"Most _definitely_ ," Hunk corrects, "Take Matt with you too."

Pidge smiles her pointy teeth looking less threatening for once as she answers, "He'd definitely want to see dad too."

When they break the surface, they're in a secluded area of the marina Keith was in. The sky is in shades of red and yellow; the sun slowly disappearing. Hunk and Pidge drop Keith under a dock where the water meets sand.

"Thank you," Keith says as he climbs onto the dock.

"You're soaking wet," Pidge says, "You should probably wait it out before you make an appearance to humans, you look psycho."

Keith chuckles, "Says the one with sharp teeth."

Pidge raises an eyebrow as she bares her fangs, "Say that again?"

"Pidge," Hunk chastises the mermaid, "We should go back before somebody sees us."

"Right, it was nice meeting you Keith. Later," the mermaid dives underwater her green tail causing ripples on the surface.

"Bye Keith," Hunk holds out his hand, "It was a pleasure getting to know you."

"You too," Keith replied as he takes Hunk's hand, shaking it. When they let go, a wind blows by and Keith shivers, rubbing his arms to create warmth. The human turns around, already aching to return to his soft bed in his house.

"Oh and Keith?" Hunk says.

"Yeah?" Keith turns around.

"He'll come around," Hunk promises a sly smile on his face before he dives into the sea, his big yellow tail causing a splash.

Keith looks quizzically down into the water before he hears the sound of the water splashing. Keith looks up and finds in the distance a shimmering blue tail before it disappears into the water. _He'll come around_.

The smile that adorns Keith's face is the biggest one he's sported all day.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Art by Luz on Amino
> 
> Thanks moon for being my beta!
> 
> Comments are always appreciated! :D Really! I'd love to know what you all thought! I don't bite, I swear ;)
> 
> Thanks for reading! <3


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